In four or five years I will be back looking at new Mac hardware. It should all be settled down by then. I’m not a fashion victim so I’m waiting until it’s needed.
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What will be your first ARM MAC?
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I will need something that can output dual DP1.4 for my 8K display and replace the old Mac Pro 2010 while not costing $6,000 for the equivalent of $2,000 worth of hardware...
I'm guessing the Arm Mac Mini will be faster in every conceivable way except GPU.
The 2013 Mac Pro form factor almost seem viable again.
I'm guessing the Arm Mac Mini will be faster in every conceivable way except GPU.
The 2013 Mac Pro form factor almost seem viable again.
I want to replace my Hackintosh with a small form factor desktop of some sort with no screen (I would re-use my 2x4K monitors). A Mac mini would be fine if it can run both screens well (GPU) and is not ridiculously overpriced then I'll get one of them
I hope Apple will bring back the Cube! Not as a replacement for the Mac Pro, but as a more compact entry-level workstation.
Six USB4 (TB3) ports / Two 10Gb Ethernet ports / 420W Platinum-rated PSU
DDR5 RAM (Unified Memory Architecture) & NVMe storage (dual NAND blades in RAID 0) on logic board
"CPU" line-up:
32 P cores / 4 E cores / 64 GPU cores / 8GB HBM2e Tile Memory
48 P cores / 4 E cores / 80 GPU cores / 16GB HBM2e Tile Memory
64 P cores / 4 E cores / 96 GPU cores / 32GB HBM2e Tile Memory
< Mac "Big Chungus" Pro chassis might have dual "CPUs"? >
"GPGPU" line-up (an Apple version of MXM):
64 GPU cores / 16GB HBM2e Tile Memory
80 GPU cores / 16GB HBM2e Tile Memory
96 GPU cores / 32GB HBM2e Tile Memory
< Mac "Big Chungus" Pro chassis (MPX modules) would have two of the above ("dual GPUs") on each module? >
And please Apple, bring back a line-up of Apple Displays...!!!
I am not looking for workstation pricing though! It should be possible to build a fast-enough headless Mac for < £1000.
Oh, for sure! For an Apple Silicon Mac mini, I would expect:
8 P cores / 4 E cores / 12 GPU cores / 2GB LPDDR5 Tile Memory
12 P cores / 4 E cores / 16 GPU cores / 4GB LPDDR5 Tile Memory
16 P cores / 4 E cores / 24 GPU cores / 6GB LPDDR5 Tile Memory
DDR5 RAM (Unified Memory Architecture) & NVMe storage on logic board
< these could also be "CPUs" shared with the lower end of the laptop line-up? >
But I dunno, I am pulling all of this out of my butt (but extrapolating <poorly> from the DTK...! ;^p
MBA Apple Silicon/new model equivalent ‘The MacBook’.
I’m betting that the base level consumer machines will be significantly more powerful than the current MBA intel machines with GPU performance as good (if not a little better) than the current iPhone consumer model.
Likely that they will be great for everyday productivity, photo and video editing, casual games and any triple A games at ‘high’ settings (if they are ported to ARM which is another story).
I’m also betting that Pro machines are going to be exactly that with Apple Silicon ie tuned to developer, 3D and audio video content creation workflows.
More power than most people need, basically, but at the moment are forced to get if they are doing anything moderately demanding with Mac intel notebooks.
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Agree with you about the iMac. Given how dated the design is, surely a redesign is on the cards very soon.
And why would you redesign a new iMac for intel processors, given that the thermals, airflow and SoC will likely be different under Apple Silicon.
I’m betting that the base level consumer machines will be significantly more powerful than the current MBA intel machines with GPU performance as good (if not a little better) than the current iPhone consumer model.
Likely that they will be great for everyday productivity, photo and video editing, casual games and any triple A games at ‘high’ settings (if they are ported to ARM which is another story).
I’m also betting that Pro machines are going to be exactly that with Apple Silicon ie tuned to developer, 3D and audio video content creation workflows.
More power than most people need, basically, but at the moment are forced to get if they are doing anything moderately demanding with Mac intel notebooks.
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Agree with you about the iMac. Given how dated the design is, surely a redesign is on the cards very soon.
And why would you redesign a new iMac for intel processors, given that the thermals, airflow and SoC will likely be different under Apple Silicon.
Macbook Air:
0.16–0.63 H x 11.97 W x 8.36 D, 2.8lbs
13" MBP:
0.61 H x 11.97 W x 8.36 D, 3.1lbs
They are not noticeably different in footprint or weight, they're basically the same except for the front taper of the Air. If you think the Air is an ultra-portable then you think the 13" MBP is an ultra-portable.
12" Macbook:
0.14-0.52 H x 11.04 W x 7.74 D, 2.03lbs
you can't compare them in stores anymore, but when i held the 12 Macbook in an Apple store compared to the Air, it was a noticeable difference. the 12" Macbook is what i consider an ultra-portable. that thing was incredibly compact and light. the Air and MBP are small laptops, but not what i would consider ultra-portable.
rumors are pointing to the first devices not getting them but completely i agree. i think anything, outside of maybe the mac mini, should come with a redesign when switched to ARM.
I recently looked at the £999 MacBook Air, but reviews citing thermals made me hesitate.
If there’s an Arm one that doesn’t have the thermals issue, and the reviews are good, and it’s still under £1,000, then I’ll be taking a close look at it.
I would prefer something as portable as possible with very good battery life, but that I could also connect to a large screen & keyboard/mouse for a little bit of occasional heavy lifting.
I think if Apple want people to embrace the new Arm range from the start, they’re going to need to do some work on the design as others have said. I don’t dislike the current design, but giving people something different/better will give them an extra incentive to jump on board the Arm wagon sooner rather than later.
If there’s an Arm one that doesn’t have the thermals issue, and the reviews are good, and it’s still under £1,000, then I’ll be taking a close look at it.
I would prefer something as portable as possible with very good battery life, but that I could also connect to a large screen & keyboard/mouse for a little bit of occasional heavy lifting.
I think if Apple want people to embrace the new Arm range from the start, they’re going to need to do some work on the design as others have said. I don’t dislike the current design, but giving people something different/better will give them an extra incentive to jump on board the Arm wagon sooner rather than later.
My next Mac will be the second-gen of Apple Silicon - the rumored 14" MacBook Pro in 2021.
I'm always gun-shy about anything first-gen, even as much as I'll be drooling over this fall's 13" MacBook Pro.
I'm always gun-shy about anything first-gen, even as much as I'll be drooling over this fall's 13" MacBook Pro.
Macbook Air 1st ARM gen - only one condition: all Microsoft Office apps (incl. Edge) ported to native ARM at launch.
A $100 price drop would clinch the sale without any hesitation on my part.
A $100 price drop would clinch the sale without any hesitation on my part.
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Probably a Mac mini Apple Silicon 2022. There's no way I'm getting near a first-generation unit.
That will be about the right time to replace my Mac mini 2018 anyhow.
That will be about the right time to replace my Mac mini 2018 anyhow.
One of the first models released.
If it’s a laptop that isn’t powerful enough for my work it will be powerful enough for my sons school work
I bought the 1st gen Intel MBP and never regretted it, it was great and lasted me until the 2014 MBP Retina.
I’d prefer an AS iMac but not sure the processors for that will be ready before fall 2021.
Surely all new AS Macs will get a redesign taking design cues from the iPad Pro...
If it’s a laptop that isn’t powerful enough for my work it will be powerful enough for my sons school work
I bought the 1st gen Intel MBP and never regretted it, it was great and lasted me until the 2014 MBP Retina.
I’d prefer an AS iMac but not sure the processors for that will be ready before fall 2021.
Surely all new AS Macs will get a redesign taking design cues from the iPad Pro...
Sure would make the whole Sidecar thing more visually marketable, iMac (Pro) & iPad (Pro) working together...!
Did you ever see the WWDC? They actually demoed Maya 3D and seemed pretty fluid to me for an "emulated" (actually translated) software running on a tablet SoC. Indeed, many apps won't be updated but why even care about those anyway if they won't make the effort? Autodesk didn't even take the effort to make Revit for Mac so don't expect them to move their ass now
On the other hand, most big players will be there because:
1. If ARM becomes the next thing in computers they don't wanna be caught pants off
2. It's not a matter of making the software again, they just need to recompile their code into ARM which is more trivial than it seems (and then iron some stuff like using NEON/SVE intrinsics instead of SSE/AVX). To put an example: people have already compiled Blender to run in a Raspberry 2, no emulations or translations just native code compiled for ARM.
3. If they don't, others will. Just look at how great alternatives to Adobe stuff are appearing (like Affinity) to compete. The moment a business gets lazy, competition arises. And if they don't try to take the place, someone else will.
- The Maya demo was just a precompilated scene.
- The “if they don’t, others will” argument doesn’t work for companies. And it doesn’t really work for my personal use either since I have years of learning in some apps.
- I’m not trying to say that I want Apple to stay with Intel. But it’s gonna be ugly in the beginning for many people.
Rumors are that there may no longer be separate "Pro" or "Air" versions of the MacBook - that it will just be a "MacBook".
Apple might as well go ahead and do that - since there really is nothing 'pro' about the "MacBook Pro" model anymore - you can't change out any of the hardware, which is what made it 'pro' in my eyes.
With Apple Silicon, the only thing that Apple could appear to do to differentiate the models is to give a crappier screen for the Air (which it traditionally has done).
Apple might as well go ahead and do that - since there really is nothing 'pro' about the "MacBook Pro" model anymore - you can't change out any of the hardware, which is what made it 'pro' in my eyes.
With Apple Silicon, the only thing that Apple could appear to do to differentiate the models is to give a crappier screen for the Air (which it traditionally has done).
Never been afraid of getting a 1 gen. Got the (plastic) MacBook in 2006, and later the 11" MacBook Air in 2010 to replace it. Both of them served me well, the latter VERY well, as it was my main computer at home for 9 (!) years until a little less than year ago, when I got the 13" MBP with 2 ports (the 1.4 quad i5).
So, even if I have a (relatively) new MacBook Pro I'll probably replace (complement?) that with a ±14" Arm MacBook of sorts when that comes out. Not because I need to, but because I want to.
So, even if I have a (relatively) new MacBook Pro I'll probably replace (complement?) that with a ±14" Arm MacBook of sorts when that comes out. Not because I need to, but because I want to.
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Don't mislead people, there's no such thing as "precompiled" scene in Maya. You may refer to an already rendered scene, but that wasn't one (and if you ever worked with any 3D software you would know).
When you model in 3D (in Maya, 3Ds Max, Blender or Sketchup, doesn't matter as they all use the same system basis) you have a bunch of models containing X amount of triangles/ngons, that's where 99% of the 3D designer spends his/her time. That's not rendered, not even in powerful computers, as even if you used some real time renderer like EEVEE or some renderer previsualizer you are just spending unnecessary resources. No one works like that, but only with polygons and maybe some smoothing but that's pretty much all. Then you just bake, export, render with materials/textures or whatever you wanna do with it, but it's just a last step. And that's what Apple was showing, how fluid would it be to work with that many polygons which is the basic workflow of any designer.
Of course it works, that's actually how the capitalistic system works: offer and demand.
It's pretty easy, you said already you've spent years learning some specific apps: if you are worried about the small overhead the translated binaries will have, just don't buy ARM Macs. Get an Intel one and you'll have a good computer for 5-6 years. There's no reason to be so afraid I guess?
Probably whatever the first one is to experiment, I’ve been interested in an ARM mac for a long time.